St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-13

performer who can keep the piano keys in
motion the longest gets the gate receipts. A
concert hall pianoist at Baberton last week
played the piano twenty-four hours without
stopping for as much as one bars rest and
crossed the finish line in good shape. When
the performance closed Baberton was a
deserted village. The entire population had
moved out.
Gen. BUTLER has at last had an opportu-
nifty to give public explanation of his
''spoon" crusade in New Orleans, which has
so often been thrown into his teeth by the
politicians. Last Saturday he was called to
the witness stand in the court of CLAIMS at
Washington to give evidence in q suit brought
by the heirs of the late Gen. DAVID L.
TURGGS to recover the value of certain prop
erty taken by the United States during the
military occupation of New Orleans in 1862.
~
During the examination Gen. BUTLER de-
posed that when he was relieved of his COM
mand at New Orleans he asked his successor,
Gen. BANKS, to appoint property commits
sion, which he did. An inventory was then
taken of all the property that Gen. BUTLER
and his agents had in their possession, and it
was turned over to Gen. BANKS and q receipt
taken for it,. Gen. BUTLER testified that all
the yaluables which had been taken from
private houses were stored in the custom
house, and that only one box containing jew
elry of great value had come into his personal
possession. This box was included in the re-
ceipt and turned over to Gen. BANKS.
~
This is the first public denial that Gen.
BUTLER ever made of the spoon story, and as
q
made under oath in United States court it
may be presumed that the old and vexed
question of what Gen. BUTLER did with the
spoons has been settled forever. Heretofore
Gen. BUTLER has been in the habit of laugh
ing at the spoon story whenever he was twit-
ted with it.
During the last Democratic cow ention in
Chicago Gen. BUTLER was visited in his room
at the Palmer house one night by u Southern
gentlemen. BUTLER was firm in the belief
that the Democrats would be compelled to
nominate him for the presidency, for he as
serted that he was 1.-THE only man in the
United States who could beat JIM BLAINE"
The Southerner frankly told him that he
could not rely on the white vote of the South,
as in his opinion, the spoon episode would
~
At the mention Of ''spoons" BUTLER braced
himself up i'll his chair and, throwing mis-
head back so as to get the Southerner in line
with the pupil of that cock eye said: Il
wouldn't give the snap of my finger for the
effect of all such campaign stories of that
character. The South would have to swallow
me with or without spoons. For every white
vote would loose in the South on account of
that silly cry l would gain three negro votes.
The Southern negroes worship me. 1 am
their hero. Just recall the demonstration
they gave me when visited Richmond five
years ago.
-
AT this point the Southerner reminded Gen.
BUTLER that then he went among them as
Repu blican leader. Now. if he went before
the country as the Democratic candidate, he
would find the negroes of the South as bitter
toward him as they had formerly been en-
thusiastic for him. mot bit of it, re-
piled BUTLER. 81 will tell you hold l have
upon the negroes. When l was commander
of the Army of the James had $1,000 negro
soldiers in my command. When they were
mustered out of service / had $4,000 silver
medals struck and gave one to each of them
as distinction of merit. Those medals are
still preserved by those eX-soldiers or by their
families. They are known as the BUTLER
medals, and my name is q household word in
every negro cabin in the South Ibid you
say those medals were made of silver, gen.
eral?' asked the Southerner. Yes, they
were made of silver" replied BUTLER vigor-
| ously. At the same time twinkle of merri-
ment sparkled in his off eye as he snapped
out: "Now you rebels know what did with
| those id spoons you talk so much about. ,